The present disclosure generally relates to a system for transferring a liquid anesthetic agent from an anesthetic bottle to an anesthetic vaporizer. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an anesthetic vaporizer, an adapter for an anesthetic bottle, and anesthetic vaporizer filling system.
Anesthetic agents are typically volatile substances with relatively low boiling points and high vapor pressures. Anesthetic agents can be flammable and explosive in both the liquid and vapor states. Further, inhalation of vapor by healthcare personnel in an area near where the anesthetic agent is being used can cause drowsiness, reduced attentiveness, and/or reduced reaction time. An anesthetic agent is administered to a patient during anesthesia through the use of an anesthetic vaporizer. The anesthetic agent is supplied to the patient as a vapor from a reservoir of anesthetic liquid stored in an internal sump within a vaporizer. The anesthetic agent is typically mixed with oxygen and/or nitrous oxide prior to its delivery to the patient for improved inhalation and/or absorption of the anesthetic agent by the patient's body.
Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the anesthetic agent in the sump sealed against the leakage of any of the anesthetic liquid, or vapor, except for desired release controlled by the vaporizer. Leakage of anesthetic liquids or vapors from the sump may result in exposing the personnel around the vaporizer to the risks indicated above, but may also contribute to waste or loss of the anesthetic agent itself, or the introduction of contaminants to the anesthetic agent stored in the sump.
Presently, many types of anesthetic agents are available for use during anesthesia and delivered by a vaporizer. These anesthetic agents include, but are not limited to: Enflurane (2-chloro-1,1,2-trifluoromethyl), Halothane (1-bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2,-trifluoroethane), Isoflurane (1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether), Sevoflurane (fluoromethyl 2,2,2-trifluoror-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethyl ether), and Desflurane (2-(difluoromethoxy)-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane).
Each of these anesthetic agents have different properties and vaporizers are designed to deliver each anesthetic agent differently depending upon the properties of the specific anesthetic agent. Therefore, it is important that the correct type of anesthetic agent is delivered to the vaporizer sump. Various conventions and/or standards, such as those defined by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) help to ensure that the correct anesthetic agent is delivered into a proper sump of the vaporizer. These conventions and standards include the use of various colors to indicate components directed towards the use of specific anesthetic agents. Additionally, the anesthetic bottle and the connection for the anesthetic bottle to the vaporizer are indexed such as through projections, keys, and/or bottle dimensions to ensure that only the proper anesthetic bottle fits the designated vaporizer components designed for that type of anesthetic. This greatly reduces the probability of inadvertently using the wrong type of anesthetic agent within the vaporizer.